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‘We are disappointed and frustrated:’ Denmark’s reaction to reduced vaccine deliveries

Denmark's Minister of Health Magnus Heunicke has said in a written statement that he views the decline in Covid-19 vaccine deliveries from Pfizer / BioNTech as a serious concern.

Published: 16 January 2021 16:14 CET
'We are disappointed and frustrated:' Denmark's reaction to reduced vaccine deliveries
Pfizer vaccines at the new Covid-19 vaccination centre at Slagelse Hospital, on Thursday 7 January 2021. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen / Ritzau Scanpix
US pharma group Pfizer warned on Friday that Covid-19 vaccine deliveries to Denmark and Europe would be reduced “as of next week” until the end of February as the company ramps up its production capacity.

The reason for the reduction is that production at the company's factory in Puurs, Belgium is to be upgraded, Pfizer Denmark told the national broadcaster DR.

READ ALSO: Pfizer warns reduction of Covid-19 vaccine deliveries in Denmark and across Europe

In a written comment, Denmark's Minister of Health Magnus Heunicke expressed the seriousness of the situation.

“We are in a race with coronavirus and the new more contagious virus variant. Therefore, we take the decline in deliveries very seriously.

“The government has therefore at the highest level activated all channels, including contact and dialogue with other EU member states and the EU Commission to secure Denmark's interests”, he says.

Director of the Statens Serum Institut, Henrik Ullum, also expressed his disappointed.

“This is really, really annoying news, which we are very disappointed and frustrated about.

“If this was a planned re-adjustment, why does it come so suddenly? We cannot understand that,” he told DR Nyheder.

According to the delivery plan from Pfizer, Denmark was to receive 59,475 doses next week. Pfizer has not yet confirmed how many vaccines will now be delivered, according to Statens Serum Institut (SSI).

Heunicke says that the health authorities are in the process of clarifying the scope and consequences of fewer vaccine deliveries.

In addition, work is underway to adapt the vaccination plan to the new information. According to the preliminary vaccine plan, all those living in Denmark who wish to do so will be fully vaccinated by 27 June.

READ ALSO: Why Denmark is leading EU in roll-out of Covid-19 vaccine

Six EU countries, including Denmark, have sent a letter to the European Commission expressing “serious concern” over the delay in the delivery of corona vaccines from Pfizer / BioNTech, according to news agency AFP who have seen the letter.

Health ministers from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden say in the letter that the situation is “unacceptable” and call on the European Commission to pressure Pfizer / BioNTech to “ensure stability and transparency in deliveries”.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday that she had spoken to Pfizer's CEO, Albert Bourla, following the announcement of delayed deliveries.

“He assured me that all the agreed doses for the first quarter will be delivered in the first quarter”, von der Leyen says.

She adds that Pfizer has promised that the company will try to reduce the delay as much as possible as well as make up for lost time as soon as possible.

The reduction is due to the fact that the factory in Puurs, Belgium, needs to be upgraded so that 2 billion doses can be produced per year compared to 1.3 billion before.

“This means that a significantly increased number of doses will be available for the countries from mid-February onwards”, Pfizer states.

The Pfizer vaccine has been used by Denmark since it commenced its vaccination programme on December 27th.

Vaccines from Moderna, the second producer to be approved for supply by the European Medicines Agency, began arriving in the country last week.

Latest figures show that Denmark has now administered 147,115 Covid-19 vaccinations, around 2.5 percent of the population.

Five Danes have received two doses of the vaccine and are now fully vaccinated according to daily vaccination figures from the Statens Serum Institut (SSI) on Saturday.

READ ALSO: COMPARE: How fast are European countries vaccinating their populations?

 

 

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HEALTH

When can doctors in Denmark refuse to continue treating patients?

General Practitioners in Denmark have the right to break off a patient-doctor relationship in specific circumstances.

Published: 1 August 2024 16:35 CEST
When can doctors in Denmark refuse to continue treating patients?

Although doctors in Denmark have the right to decide not to continue treating a patient – requiring them to find a new GP – the circumstances in which this can happen are limited, and must be approved by health authorities.

The frequency in which the circumstances arise is also low. A doctor decided to no longer receive a patient on 375 occasions in 2016, according to the medical professionals’ journal Ugeskrift for Læger. The following year, newspaper Jyllands-Posten reported the figure at 458.

There are two main categories of circumstances in which a doctor can choose to take this step. The first is in instances of violent or threatening behaviour from the patient towards the doctor. 

The second (and most common) is when the doctor considers the relationship to have deteriorated to the extent that confidence has broken down, according to Ugeskrift for Læger.

It should be noted that patients are not bound by any restrictions in this regard, and can decide to change their GP without having to give any justification.

A patient also has the right to appeal against a doctor’s decision to ask them to find a new GP. This is done by appealing to the local health authority, called a Region in the Danish health system.

In such cases, a board at the regional health authority will assess the claim and if it finds in favour of the patient may order the doctor to attempt to repair the relationship.

Doctors cannot end a relationship with a patient purely because a patient has made a complaint about them to health authorities. This is because patients should have the option of making complaints without fear of consequences for their future treatment. 

However, if this is accompanied by the conclusion on the doctor’s part that there is no longer confidence in them on the part of the patient, they can remove the patient from their list.

The right to no longer see patients in the circumstances detailed above is provided by doctors’ collective bargaining agreements, the working conditions agreed on between trade unions and employer confederations under the Danish labour market system.

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